Discovering Great Sand Dunes at Mui Ne Vietnam

On our second day in Vietnam, I was woken up by the loud ring of JE's cell phone at around 4:30 am. I tried sleeping again, but my attempt failed despite counting thousands of sheep. By 6:00 am, I gave up trying to sleep, and decided to take a bath already as we have to catch our 7:30 am bus going to Mui Ne Beach. By 7am, we ate our breakfast consisting of the same Our Daily Bread, strawberry jam/margarine and coffee. While eating our breakfast, I noticed JE's thin shirt layered with a very awful vest. I asked him what in the world is he wearing. I said I'll claim I don't know him because I don't want to be seen with him wearing that. He looks like a photographer, or our local environmentalist celebrity, Kuya Kim.  The only thing missing is him hanging his camera on his neck. In spite of my nasty remarks, JE didn’t care and still wore his vest. Hahaha. To make things worse, he actually wanted a scarf to go with his outfit. After eating, I arranged the payment for our room and checked out from our cheap Vietnam hotel, Madam Cuc. Even the Caucasians who were having breakfast are staring at me. They’re probably thinking ‘Who the heck is this kid, traveling without a companion?’ Hahaha.

After breakfast and checking out from our cheap Vietnam hotel Madam Cuc, we headed to Sinh Tour’s office again. The trip from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne took about 5 hours. It would have taken a lot shorter if the bus was going faster, but I heard the conductor chatting with one of the passengers that the bus usually runs at 50kph. I noticed that the bus indeed was running slow, maybe slower than 50kph at times. The roads and scenery are quite similar to Manila and the provinces of the Philippines. We named some of the roads looking quite similar to those in Manila, such as Roxas Blvd. and the C5 tunnel going to Eastwood. Small houses and rice fields line both sides of the roads. The only noticeable thing is the way they plant the rubber trees. They are all lined up straight, with ribbons and cuts on the trunks.

At 12:29 in the afternoon, I noticed that the bus was suddenly running faster. Seems the driver is trying to reach the terminal by 12:30, the supposedly exact time of our arrival. In fairness, we were able to arrive at 12:31 pm. Hahaha. After just a 3-minute walk, we were able to find our cheap guesthouse, Mai Am. It was better than what I was expecting. Once you enter, you will be immediately welcomed by their mini garden for Buddha. Then at the back of it is the reception and restaurant. Then some huts for dining also. At the beach front are some summer chairs and umbrellas. We have reserved 2 double rooms, each with its own air con, TV and bathroom. The guesthouse is more posh and newer compared to Madam Cuc. After presenting our booking confirmation to the reception guy, he told us “At 1:00, you’ll have your tour at Cham Tower.” What?? We haven’t eaten our lunch yet. I answered, “No time for lunch”. And he replied back, “No!” Huhuhu. Are we not allowed to eat a complete meal here in Vietnam? So we checked our rooms, and left our stuff there. Before leaving, I tried asking the receptionist again if we could maybe order some food in their restaurant, and bring it with us in our tour. Good thing he allowed us to have a quick meal in their restaurant. So we ordered something that could be cooked quickly, Our Daily bread, with some tomato omelet. Continue reading here.

Bread with Tomato Omelet